IP Possibilities Conference & Expo - Registration Open What does the future of IP-based technology hold for you in 2010? Stay ahead of the marketplace and remain informed about consumer demands, trends and what the competition is about to unveil. Let the experts at IP Possibilities Conference & Expo guide you through the opportunities and threats inherent in the migration to IP services. Register today.

Editor’s Note: The New Edge will be on hiatus next week. We will return on January 4, 2010. Happy holidays!

Comcast Launches National Streaming TV Service

Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, went mainstream with its Fancast Xfinity TV service last week, officially launching its On Demand Online experience service nationally.

Fancast Xfinity is a free, ad-supported video Web site which allows users to watch full-length television shows from 27 networks online — including pay cable offerings HBO, Cinemax and Starz. The highly anticipated — and controversial — service is available to subscribers who pay for high-speed Internet access and television.

Comcast's network partners in Xfinity include A&E, AMC, CBS, Discovery, History, TLC and TNT, among others. Of note, Comcast's service does not yet have a content deal with NBC Universal, the media company that it is acquiring. But the site does offer the NBC shows that are available on Hulu.

Although the service is now available nationally, it is still in beta. Comcast began testing the service with 5,000 customers this past summer. (See the April 27, 2009, and June 29, 2009, issues).

As you may remember, the cable industry has united behind the "TV Everywhere" initiative. The concept is aimed at organizing the industry around a single plan that would ask pay-TV subscribers to authenticate or identify themselves as paying customers before gaining access to online TV content.

In an era where free, ad-supported Web sites such as Hulu.com and ABC.com are gaining popularity, TV Everywhere aims to ensure that consumers stay connected to cable TV, even if it is through an online medium.

Read the release.
The New York Times has more.
For more, "Time Warner Cable, Verizon Launch TV on the Web."

Cable Co. Introduces First HSPA+ Network in U.S.

BendBroadband, a family-owned cable operator in central Oregon, has launched the nation's first 3G HSPA+ (high speed packet access plus) wireless broadband network. The cable operator claims that it can now provide the fastest wireless speeds available in the United States, delivering 15 Mbps under optimal conditions, with average speeds between 6 and 8 Mbps.

With this new wireless technology, BendBroadband says it can reach homes inside their cable footprint which have not been economically feasible to serve via traditional fiber-coax cable infrastructure.

The broadband connections will come in two flavors — fixed and mobile — and will cost anywhere from $20-$80 per month. The company also plans to introduce a feature-rich home telephone service to these areas in early 2010.

The cable provider is using AWS spectrum for the network with plans to deploy an LTE network using 700 MHz spectrum it won at auction.

Both T-Mobile and AT&T are also building HSPA+ networks in certain markets.

TeliaSonera has lit up its long-term evolution (LTE) networks in Norway, and Sweden, becoming the world's first operator to commercially launch LTE services.

The new, proto-4G networks cover the central areas of the Norwegian and Swedish capitals – which translates to approximately 150,000 people in Oslo and about 300,000 people in Stockholm.

The offer bundles LTE access along with other mobile data services, and includes a Samsung LTE modem as well as a separate 3G modem. Subscribers can expect to experience speeds between 20 Mbps and 80 Mbps, a TeliaSonera spokesman told tech magazine Unstrung.

TeliaSonera plans to roll out the LTE network to 25 cities and vacation areas in Sweden as well as three big Norwegian cities throughout 2010. The operator expects to launch LTE services in Finland next year, where it has just won a new license. In addition, an LTE spectrum auction in Denmark is anticipated to take place in the first quarter of next year.

"An early LTE launch probably doesn't generate significant commercial benefits in the near term, but it does provide TeliaSonera with a very valuable test-bed to learn how to optimize the network and how to align the technology with future services and business models," said Gabriel Brown, senior analyst at Heavy Reading.

"This could provide the carrier with a sustainable competitive advantage a few years down the line as LTE-capable terminals penetrate deeper into the subscriber base."

Verizon announced last week that it successfully field-tested a passive optical network system known as XG-PON that can transmit data at 10 Gbps downstream and 2.4 Gbps upstream, four times as fast as the current top transmission speeds supporting the company's all-fiber FiOS network.

The XG-PON signal was tested independently on a dedicated passive optical network (PON) as well as overlaid on a fiber providing FiOS service to a customer.

Until now, next-generation PON technology has been tried only in demonstrations and lab trials. Final technical standards for global design and deployment aren't expected until mid 2010.

"From the earliest stages of the FiOS design, we knew we could repeatedly and progressively leverage the immense capacity of fiber to carry more and more data in support of customer applications," said Mark Wegleitner, senior vice president of technology for Verizon. "Now we're already working on the best way to take the next leap forward in capacity."

And, last but not least, ourVOTW: Robot break-dances its way to the top of Christmas lists worldwide.

Have you recently seen a funny, entertaining or informational video? "The New Edge" would love to hear from you. Please send your suggestions for
the next "video of the week" to jward@ntca.org and your video might be featured in an upcoming issue.

The Marketplace

Rural Telecom Magazine
NTCA's award winning magazine is the most valuable resource for the telecommunications industry. Each issue offers readers up-to-date information about public policy, developing business, technology, management, marketing, operations and more. Order for your staff and directors. Visit RuralTelecom.org to read the full issue of the magazine as well as subscription and advertising information.

Industry Events

Wireless Symposium and WiExpo (Jan 13-15)
Attend the most comprehensive wireless conference for rural telco service providers and vendors on January 13-15, in San Antonio, Texas. You will learn strategic planning tactics to grow your business and discover cost-saving solutions at the sold-out WiExpo show floor. If you are considering wireless services, but want to know your options, make plans today for you and your colleagues to attend the most-talked about wireless event.

NTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO (Jan 31-Feb 3) Heat up your business in 2010 by registering for the NTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO in Tampa held January 31-February 3. This year's meeting will give you the knowledge to position your telco as a competitive industry leader. During educational sessions and networking events, you will be equipped with resources to take your company to the next level. View the Schedule-at-a-Glance to see more meeting highlights.

IP Possibilities Conference & Expo (April 13-15) What does the future of IP-based technology hold for you in 2010? Stay ahead of the marketplace and remain informed about consumer demands, trends and what the competition is about to unveil. Let the experts at IP Possibilities Conference & Expo guide you through the opportunities and threats inherent in the migration to IP services. Choose the best track (Bill It, Fill It and Build It) for your current involvement, or mix between tracks to deepen your knowledge base. Register today.

Wireless Symposium and WiExpoAttend the most comprehensive wireless conference for rural telco service providers and vendors on January 13-15, in San Antonio, Texas. You will learn strategic planning tactics to grow your business and discover cost-saving solutions at the sold-out WiExpo show floor.

Google plans to begin selling an Android-based smartphone directly to consumers as early as next month, according to published reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Sources familiar with the matter say the phone will be based on GSM technology, and that the device, manufactured by the Taiwanese company HTC, is thinner than Apple's iPhone, with a slightly larger touch screen. It is named Nexus One, according to various reports and digital traces that the phones have been leaving on Web sites.

The move is reportedly designed to offer Google the flexibility to distribute its own voice and data services without adhering to typical carrier restrictions.

Needless to say, if the rumor comes to fruition it could shake up the fundamentals of the cellphone market in the United States, where most phones are sold and subsidized by an individual wireless carrier, and designed to work only on its network.

Google confirmed Saturday that it is trialing a new mobile product: "We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe," writes Google product management vice president Mario Queiroz on the Official Google Mobile Blog. "This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it."

The New York Times has the full story.
Google's blog mentions the trial.
Engadget has photos of the device.

AT&T Partners with Silver Spring on Smart Grid

AT&T and Silver Spring Networks, a seven-year-old company based in California that sells smart grid networking gear to utilities, announced a new partnership last week in which Silver Spring will utilize AT&T's network to backhaul its smart-grid gear. The financials of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are thrilled to be working with Silver Spring and their growing number of successful deployments, as we continue to expand our smart grid solutions that enable utilities to utilize wireless technology as backhaul for customer data," said Chris Hill, vice president, mobility product management, AT&T Business Solutions.

"AT&T is providing utilities with an economically compelling carrier network they can rely on for monitoring energy use and managing consumption."

Apart from Silver Spring, AT&T has similar partnerships with Itron, a smart meter maker; SmartSynch, a provider of IP-based smart grid solutions using public wireless networks; and Cooper Power Systems, a distribution grid equipment maker.

The telecom provider is working with SmartSynch, offering the use of its 3G wireless network for residential installations of SmartSynch's smart meter technology. That deal was an expansion of a similar relationship between AT&T and SmartSynch for commercial installations, and SmartSynch says it is working with AT&T to connect 100 different utilities' back offices.

Cox Communications Inc. has identified the first three markets that will receive the MSO's wireless phone and mobile high-speed Internet service: Hampton Roads, Va.; Orange County, Calif.; and Omaha, Neb. Cox serves 1.45 million cable subscribers in those three markets combined.

As you may remember, Cox was initially involved in Sprint's "Pivot" wireless venture along with Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., and Bright House Networks. Cox announced back in April 2008 that it was cutting ties with Pivot. Then in October 2008, the MSO revealed plans to add wireless service. (See the October 27, 2008, issue.)

This first set of markets will tap into Sprint Nextel Corp.'s 3G CDMA network "to get to market quicker, while managing every aspect of the service ourselves," a Cox spokeswoman said in an email to Cable Digital News.

Cox has launched wireless service to a test group of Cox customers in those markets, and plans to expand the service across Hampton Roads, Omaha and Orange County in 2010, complementing those launches with retail stores.

The operator has not disclosed pricing and bundling plans or which devices will run on its wireless platform, citing competitive reasons. Cox also has not laid out a specific timeline for when it will roll out wireless in its other cable markets, which include most of Rhode Island; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; San Diego; Las Vegas; and New Orleans, among others.

Cox is the third-largest cable television company in the United States, with more than 6.2 million total customers.

Video start-up Boxee announced last week that it is supplying the software for a new set-top box that will transfer online video to TVs. Taiwanese vendor D-Link will manufacture the device, which the companies hope to keep under a $200 retail price.

Boxee collects videos and music from Web sites such as Netflix, MLB.TV, Comedy Central and Pandora, and presents it in a visually friendly format, alongside some social networking features.

The free service has caught on with early adopters, who say it represents a future in which the wide selection of content from the Web wins out over a more limited television experience controlled by big media companies.

Boxee's software is limited to a PC or Mac, although some techies have installed it on Apple's set-top box called Apple TV.

Boxee hopes to differentiate itself by offering a truly unlimited viewing experience. However, it faces a competitive marketplace, and an uphill battle to acquire mainstream content.

California-based video company Rovi is in the early stages of designing an interactive program guide (IPG) for cable operators that would integrate video content from the Internet, linear cable TV and video-on-demand. The company expects to have details on the new IP-enabled IPG in 2010.

Rovi says that competitive pressure has influenced cable companies, and their extremely interested in the device. "The [cable] industry has shifted in the last year," said Corey Ferengul, Rovi's executive vice president of product management and marketing. "Their fear of over-the-top video is pulling us forward more quickly than we were planning just six months ago."

Rovi, previously known as Macrovision Solutions, currently offers cable providers two guides, Passport and i-Guide. Its Passport guide is deployed to about 3.9 million U.S. cable households via operators, including Cox Communications and RCN.

Rovi also offers TotalGuide to consumer-electronics manufacturers. Previously code-named Liquid, the IPG is designed for Internet-enabled HDTVs and other devices to provide integrated access to a user's personal media and Web content.

And, last but not least, ourVOTW: ATMC (Shallotte, N.C.) shares one of its commercials, based on its "Local Company, Local Priorities" theme. Thanks to Jody Heustess, ATMC Marketing Manager, for the suggestion.

Have you recently seen a funny, entertaining or informational video? "The New Edge" would love to hear from you. Please send your suggestions for
the next "video of the week" to jward@ntca.org and your video might be featured in an upcoming issue.

The Marketplace

The Business Case for Mobile Backhaul
By 2010 the number of worldwide mobile broadband phone subscribers is expected to pass the one billion mark, and data traffic will surpass voice traffic on mobile networks, according to Infonetics Research. Consumer demand for mobile broadband is fueled by the operator's desire for new revenue streams. Further, mobile operators are beginning to deploy 4G technologies, which will enable new data-intensive applications. It's the perfect storm, many factors uniting to cause increased strain on the mobile network infrastructure, particularly the backhaul facilities. Rural telcos are ideally positioned to assist with this problem, create a revenue stream and, in the process, perhaps gain a piece of the wireless market. Read more about The Business Case for Mobile Backhaul in NTCA's November 2009 ePaper.

Industry Events

Wireless Symposium and WiExpo (Jan 13-15)
Attend the most comprehensive wireless conference for rural telco service providers and vendors on January 13-15, in San Antonio, Texas. You will learn strategic planning tactics to grow your business and discover cost-saving solutions at the sold-out WiExpo show floor. If you are considering wireless services, but want to know your options, make plans today for you and your colleagues to attend the most-talked about wireless event.

NTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO (Jan 31-Feb 3) Heat up your business in 2010 by registering for the NTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO in Tampa held January 31-February 3. This year's meeting will give you the knowledge to position your telco as a competitive industry leader. During educational sessions and networking events, you will be equipped with resources to take your company to the next level. View the Schedule-at-a-Glance to see more meeting highlights.